The alarm rang at 5AM today. It was quite chilly for Ahmedabad. I immediately wanted to duck into the warm comforter and just lie there till kingdom come. But, I pushed myself out of the cosy bed and changed into my running gear. Why you ask? For two important things in my life-Milind Soman and running. While MS has been a crush since adolescence, running is a fairly new found love and boy is it fun! MS started an initiative called MegaPink (or Pinkathon as they call it) for Breast Cancer Awareness. This year there were thousands of runners like me across 40 cities in India. (Ahmedabad registered the highest number of runners this year!).

Do you need any other reason ladies!

It was an amazing feeling and I thought why not share my experience with you and some tips for you to get running to be a part of your workout regime.

Sunrise at the riverside

Today I shall list down 5 top reasons for you to get into your running shoes immediately:

1. Most of us have a sedentary lifestyle primarily whether at work, home or school. Running brings the much needed activity your body needs.

2. It acts as the perfect supplement to your other workouts like Yoga and weight training. It is common knowledge that you burn more calories during cardio than any of the other above mentioned workouts. Include running for atleast 2 days into your 5-day workout session.

3. While walking you tend to match the pace of your partner. Running happens at your own pace so you are not tempted to stop and have a chat-session with buddies.

4. Running hour is actually precious “me” time that we crave for so many times in the day. You can listen to your favorite music, get the bookreader to read you your books or plan a holiday in your mind. I have done all three!!

5. It goes with you wherever you go. No more excuses around not having access to the gym. Just carry your running shoes and explore the city!

Did I convince you enough? In the next post, I’ll bring to you some tips to help you push yourselves into getting started.

Do write in if you need more motivation or simply to share your experience and tips.